John Fries
John and Karen and all the kids and grandkids.
Biography of John Fries
After graduation I stayed at home and worked on the farm with my dad and helped other farmers in the neighborhood that summer. In the winter, my dad got a job cutting cord wood for the paper mill in Avery. Every day, in all kinds of weather, we cut wood, piled brush, and stacked cord wood on a wagon to haul to higher ground and re-piled it for the trucker to haul to the mill.
My sister was working for the Citizens National Bank and the president, John E. Wise, had always wanted me to work in the bank. During my junior and senior year he wanted me to work after school and on Saturdays, but I always told him I didn’t want to work in the bank. After working in the woods most of the winter every day, I decided I would try working in the bank, thinking how it would be much better conditions. I went to talk to Mr. Wise, and he said they had just hired a man, but if I wanted to go to college for 4 years, he would hire me when I graduated. I was not interested in going back to school, so I kept on working at home.
In August 1961 I got a call from Mr. Wise saying that the man they had hired had quit and if I wanted I could start to work the next day, and he would see that I got the bonus that was usually paid to everyone in June and December. I hurried around that afternoon getting ready and started to work at the Citizens National Bank of Norwalk on August 16, 1961. I worked in all departments of the bank and managed the drive-ins on Milan Avenue and Benedict for several years.
In May 1977 I quit the bank and started working for The Production Credit Association of Ashland at the Norwalk office located across from the fire station on Whittlesey Ave. In 1980 we moved to a new office located on Rt. 20 east of Laylin Road. After many name changes, it ended up as Ag Credit, ACA, which made long and short term loans to farmers in Huron and Erie Counties. I retired from there in February 2005.
Although I have always lived and worked on a farm, in 1977 my brother-in-law and I started farming together, renting land around Norwalk, and at the present time farm about 500 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat, and cattle. I still work on the home farm on Whittlesey Ave that has been in the Fries family for over 135 years.
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